Corporate Partnerships Executive (Fixed term contract)

Position: Corporate Partnerships Executive

Department: Fundraising, Marketing and Engagement 

Salary: £33,788

Role Type: Full-Time 6 month contract

We’re ZSL, an international conservation charity. Our vision is a world where wildlife thrives and we’re working every day to achieve this. From investigating the health threats facing animals, to helping people and wildlife live alongside each other, we are committed to bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction. Through the work of our pioneering scientists, our dedicated conservationists and our unrivalled animal experts in our two zoos, our purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals going extinct

Corporate partnerships are integral to ZSL’s vision of a world where wildlife thrives. Working within the Corporate Partnerships team, the Corporate Partnerships Executive will help generate a sustainable income stream through the management and development of existing and new corporate partnerships whilst at the same time inspiring more people to adopt positive steps to support conservation and value nature. This post has a key focus on delivering corporate engagement events, such as volunteering sessions and Behind the Scenes tours at our Zoos.

The Corporate Partnerships team has enjoyed considerable success in the last few years particularly with regards to retaining and expanding Corporate Memberships and delivering them to a high standard. Our current partners include Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, Liontrust, RBC, Shaftesbury and Sky to name a few.

The key priorities of this role are to work as part of the Corporate Partnerships team to support, manage and develop long term and sustainable memberships and partnerships to maximise fundraising income through employee engagement, gift in kind and commercial opportunities, as well as ensuring the wider strategic objectives of both client and charity are fulfilled.

This role will be responsible for supporting the Corporate Partnerships Manager to deliver against contractual obligations across the portfolio of accounts, providing administrative support for the team and overseeing specific volunteering activities, particularly in Spring and Summer. It is essential that the post holder is comfortable and confident in delivering engagement sessions by themselves, ensuring the attendees have a memorable and positive experience.

The Corporate Partnerships Executive will be an articulate and passionate advocate for the team and ZSL, with meticulous attention to detail, good IT skills and experience of dealing with senior leadership and external clients. They will be motivated, enthusiastic, and tenacious and possess the ability to pre-empt team needs and potential challenges, as well as the confidence and experience to use their initiative and creativity to solve problems. This opportunity provides a fantastic opportunity for someone looking to gain experience working on partnership across a variety of sectors and income streams.

Account Management

• Retain and grow current corporate memberships through effective relationship management
• Ensure all possible opportunities for revenue generation are utilised
• Ensure that relationship parameters and contractual obligations are met within agreed timeframe and budget
• Proactively develop strong and effective relationships with members of other parts of the organisation in order to develop partnership goals
• Effective communication with partners on a regular basis, increasing engagement between the partner and ZSL
• Ensure all corporate engagement activities are evaluated and learnings are absorbed into future activities

New Business

• Identify key partner prospects with the Corporate Partnerships team and undertake research, as directed by line manager, to qualify these leads and partnership opportunities
• Support the team in maximising new business opportunities
• Help maintain a pipeline progress chart which shows real-time status of targeted new Corporate Members
• Help the team create impactful, tailored and timely approaches to identified prospects through proposals and occasionally pitch process

General

• Respond swiftly to enquiries relating to corporate partnerships both internally and externally
• Ensure that all transactions with corporate partners are recorded on to our CRM database and that existing records are updated with the appropriate codes and notes
• Report to the Corporate Partnerships Manager in a timely manner on Corporate Membership/Partnership initiatives, progress and targets as required
• Comply with the Charities Act 2016 and the Code of Fundraising Practice and recognised standards
• Ensure that all Corporate Partnerships meet the requirements of ZSL’s Ethical Engagement Policy and Guidelines.
• Maintain an external profile, keeping up to-date with developments in the Corporate and Charity sector

Essential

• Educated to A-level standard or equivalent qualification or work experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Ability to organise workload and meet deadlines
• Strong administrative skills with high levels of computer literacy, including MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint) and databases
• Numeracy skills to work with data, budgets and reporting
• Ease in presenting and experience in creating Powerpoint presentations
• Commitment to ZSL’s core values, vision and purpose
• Experienced in relationship building and negotiating to positively influence internal and external contacts

Desirable

• Certificate in Fundraising or equivalent professional qualification
• A demonstrable track record of managing and developing a diverse range of Corporate Partnerships in a commercial or charity setting
• Demonstrable experience of growing external financial support and developing contacts and networks
• Experience of researching prospective partners and sponsors
• Experience of working with Customer Relationship Management databases such as SRO4 or Salesforce
• Experience of working with volunteers and delivering events
• An understanding of animal conservation and science, with the ability to inform and inspire our corporate guests

Knowledge

• An understanding of how the commercial sector interfaces with charities
• A broad and well-developed knowledge of corporate fundraising techniques and an understanding of when to use which technique for the benefit of the charity and the organisation
• Knowledge of the Charities Act 2016 and Code of Fundraising Practice and recognised standards, including GDPR
• A willingness to develop an understanding of ZSL’s work and the wider business sustainability agenda to ensure key environmental issues and viewpoints can be expressed confidently in meetings

Skills & Abilities

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage partners, build trust (both internally and externally) and develop strong relationships
• The ability to think laterally and creatively
• Effective problem-solving skills
• Drive, flexibility and ability to multi-task
• Excellent planning and project management skills with a keen eye for detail
• Able to demonstrate tenacity and focus
• Strong team player and able to work, enthusiastically and collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation
• Proactive, results driven approach
• Ability to prioritise a challenging workload
• Numerate and able to work with spreadsheets and budgets
• Knowledge of contact databases
• Strong IT and keyboard skills, with a working knowledge of all major office software programmes

Other Requirements

• Willingness to work-non-standard hours as reasonably required to fulfil role e.g. out of hours meetings and events occur both on and offsite so ability to work some evenings and weekends (in exchange for time off in lieu) is important
• Holder of UK driving licence is desirable as there will be some travel between London and Whipsnade Zoos and off-site meetings/events

Please find the full job description attached here - Corporate Partnerships Executive JD 2023

Applicants will need to upload their CV and covering letter (detailing relevant experience and skills, stating why they want the position and including details of availability) and can do this by clicking the "Apply for this job online" button. If you have any queries regarding this position or when applying through the system, please contact Human Resources at hr@zsl.org

Closing date for applications: Midnight Monday 30th January 2023

The Zoological Society of London is a charity registered in England and Wales: no. 208728.